Jauron press conf. transcript - 9/25

(On the challenge of getting the young defensive tackles up to NFL speed)- “You’re talking about Billy (Winn) and John (Hughes)? They’ve done a really good job. When we drafted both of them, we were anticipating that they would have to play, and that they would have to play early. At this stage, they’ve done better than we anticipated they would be able to do. We really believe they’re just going to get better as we keep moving along. I’m really pleased with them. I think Pee Wee (Dwaine Board) obviously has a lot of experience with the defensive line, and he does a great job with those guys. We’re really happy with them.”

(On if he will further tweak the secondary for Thursday’s game)- “As you well know, we have a lot of young players, and we’re giving them all opportunities to play. We like them. We just would like to get a little more production out of that position especially, at the free safety position going into that game (last week). We made the move, Usama (Young), Tashaun (Gipson) and T.J. (Ward), they all played very well, which we anticipated that they would, but you never know, particularly with a younger player, a rookie when you put him out there. They all showed up and made plays. That was very encouraging for us.”

(On if the secondary’s struggles are a ripple effect from not having Joe Haden)- “You never want to be without your starting corner, obviously. Clearly it has some effect, but again, we like our guys. They’re young and they’re developing, but they play hard. The experience that they’re gaining hopefully in the long run will serve us well. You don’t ever want to be down any starter at any position. I wouldn’t say corner is any more important than the defensive line or linebacker, but you definitely don’t want to be down starters.”

(On how you defend Joe Flacco)- “It’s hard. He’s got great speed now at the receiver positions. He’s got a very, very strong arm so he can reach about anywhere on the field with the ball. If the play lasts longer than you anticipate, it’s hard to defend it. It’s hard. We would like to disrupt them coming off the line of scrimmage, we just have to try to change up what we do trying to do that. We like to press, pressing speed is a little bit scary, but you can’t just let them run at you either. It’s got to be a combination of everything. The pass rush has to put pressure on him so he’s not comfortable, and can’t measure every throw. Then we’re going to have to be on top of people down the field because they can run and he can throw it a long ways.”

(On how the Ravens no huddle offense affects the game plan with the young guys that haven’t been exposed to it much)- “We definitely have to prepare for it and talk about it. We’ve tried to do that. We’ve been trying to do that, not just this week. As we got into it towards the end of preseason, we spent a lot more time moving fast in our periods, trying to get lined up and move fast, having the offense attack us. It never really simulates exactly what it’s like on gameday, but at least it helps us and makes them aware that they’ve got to be ready.”

(On if he’s talking about this game or the season in general)- “Just getting ready for the season in general, and then obviously we knew we would face no huddle. A lot of teams will probably no huddle us before it’s over. They just do work it in. This team has incorporated it as a major part.”

(On him being in the league for 40 years and his take on the replacement officials)- “I really am not the one to respond to that question, except the 40 year part.”

(On if there is anything different about the Ravens’ no huddle)- “Obviously, they’re executing it very well. They’re a really talented football team. There are always similarities if the no huddle offense will try to snap the ball fast on you, it makes it really uncomfortable. Over the years, whenever anybody hears no huddle, they’re going to think about Peyton (Manning) I believe. He’ll do just about everything to you and keep you very off balance, including snap the ball really quickly. If you try to make any change in your defense, any personnel changes, they can get you for penalties, which is never a good thing. We’ll just have to get a feel for how it goes. Anybody that no huddles, you just have to be careful defensively, in terms of substitutions.”

(On him favoring the no huddle offense when he was the team coach in Buffalo)- “I did. I really like the no huddle concept. I thought it was difficult to play against. To some degree, it puts the defense on edge depending on how you run it. Also, if you have a highly conditioned team, it can take an effect on a team over the course of the game.”

(On if he considers Joe Flacco to be an elite quarterback)- “I think so. I would say absolutely just by his record. His record alone I think should rank him as one of the elites in the league. The strength of his arm, the way he’s handled the change, I think this year, the changes in their offense, with the addition of the no huddle or I think emphasizing it more. I’m sure they’ve had it in the past anyway. Yeah, I think he deserves to be ranked there.”

(On how well prepared is the defense to battle out of an 0-3 hole)- “I know they’ll battle. I know they’re really a good group of guys. There’s not going to be any quit those guys. They’ll keep coming all the time no matter what. We’ve just got to get ready and play the best game we’ve played, and not give up any so called cheap touchdowns. I’ve always felt that the truth of what happens on gameday is what happened on gameday. You can’t take a play or two back, it’s done. We can’t give up some of the things that we’ve been giving up because our opponents are good enough to do it. They’re going to make plays. We just can’t give them those extra plays, the extra yards. Our guys embrace that, they understand it. I’ve got to a better job getting them ready and a better job making calls for them.”

(On their speed at linebacker)- “D’Qwell (Jackson) runs pretty well. Scott (Fujita) throughout his career has always run well. He’s getting older so he’s probably not as fast as he was, but he certainly makes up for that in experience, I believe. Then from there, Kaluka’s (Maiava) plenty fast enough, I believe. He’s a very tough guy. Our young guys all run really well. Speed is an integral part of it, there’s no doubt about it, but maybe not the most important part.”

(On T.J. Ward saying that there was some uncertainty on the field with the defense and if he sensed that)- “I did not, no. I didn’t know T.J. had said that. I’m sure there was on the field then. That’s not a good thing.”

(On if the uncertainty is because of the lineup changes)- “It could be a lot of things. There are certain plays in every football game, where the communication is not ideal. Things happen fast, I might not get a call in fast enough for them, where they do feel uncomfortable, a little bit uncertain. It could be a lot of things there, but I thought T.J. played a good game.”

(On his reaction to the Bills fans dominating the stadium at the end of the game)- “I wasn’t aware of it. I’m not on the field. Maybe that was why. I really wasn’t aware of it.”

(On is it easy for young guys to overthink things and not just trust their instincts)- “I don’t think that’s happening, if that’s the question. They’re playing hard and they’re playing fast. It’s not like they’re sitting back and waiting for things to happen around them. We’ve made errors, I’ve made errors. They’ve made us some errors on the field, made some technique errors, some decision errors. Those things will happen, but I don’t see indecision in them. One of things I like about them is that they’ll battle you all the way to the end.”

(On the challenge of going against Ray Rice)- “He’s really clearly one of the very best players in the league on the offensive side of the ball. He’s an outstanding receiver, got great balance, he’s got really good speed. He hits the hole fast, he finds the holes. They’re good up front. It’s a combination that really stresses a defense. He’s just a tremendous player.”

(On being upstairs during games this year and if he missed anything by not being on the field)- “It’s a trade-off. On the field, you’re so involved which is a great feeling. It’s so much more emotional. You have all kinds of things going on on the field. Luckily, on the field, we have tremendous people with Timmy Hauk, Billy (Davis) and Pee Wee (Dwaine Board). It’s working out fine. The communication has been good.”

(On if Jabaal Sheard is a better player this year than last year)- “Jabaal is really good. He’s very, very good. He’s intense. He’s a great teammate. I think he plays for the right reasons. I’m just really happy we have him. I just think he can get better and better every game, probably every year. I’m really glad he’s here.”

(On if teams are blocking Sheard differently because he doesn’t have as good of stats this year)- “He gets more respect than he did a year ago. He was a second round pick, that’s a pretty good player, even just by draft pick status. People were aware of him, but I don’t think that they were aware that he was as good as is. Yeah, he’s getting chipped more probably. The backs will chip him before they go out. It’s a hard thing to deal with. I don’t have any doubt that Jabaal will be fine. He’ll be a really good player for this franchise for a long time.”

(On if Phil Taylor would help the defense)- “Phil certainly would help us, there’s no doubt about it. I believe that he was ready to start off where he ended last year because he was playing good football by the end of the year. He’s worked awfully hard in his rehab. He’s probably a little ahead of schedule. He’s keeping himself in really good shape. His weight is right where he wants it and we want it. He would definitely help us, there’s no doubt, but as we talked about earlier, we were really lucky and smart. Our organization did a great job of acquiring the two young guys because they are really filling in well.”

(On what he’s seen from the Ravens offense)- “They’re a very talented offensive team. They’ve got speed outside. They’ve got experience outside and inside. They’ve got their tight ends that are very athletic. We haven’t even talked about the running back, so they really can stretch you out and give you problems, matchup problems, and they do a good job doing it.”